The FIRST World Cup match ever played was between Mexico and France, with France winning 4-1. The match was played in Montevideo, Uruguay on 13 July 1930.

The FIRST player to be sent off was Peru's captain Mario de Las Casas in a match against Romania on 14 July 1930.

The FIRST player to score a penalty goal was Mexico's Manuel Rocquetas Rosas against Argentina on 19 July 1930.

The FIRST player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match was United States' Bert Patenaude who did this against Paraguay in the first round of the 1930 World Cup. Some records wrongly have the first player scoring a hat-trick as Guillermo Stabile of Argentina in their 6:3 win over Mexico on 19 July 1930, two days after Patenaude.

The FIRST player to score in a World Cup match was Lucien Laurent of France in the 19th minute in the first World Cup match on 13 July 1930.

The FIRST player to be replaced in World Cup finals due to injury was French goalkeeper Alex Thepot. The goalkeeper was kicked by a Mexican player in the jaw in the opening match of the 1930 World Cup. He was replaced by midfielder Augustin Chantrel.

1934 Italy

The FIRST qualifying match was between Sweden and Estonia (6:2) on 11 June 1933.

The FIRST player to miss a penalty in World Cup finals was Brazil's Valdemar de Brito. De Brito missed the penalty in Brazil's 3-1 loss to Spain on 27 May 1934. That was Brazil's only match in the 1934 finals, and the only finals in which Brazil did not win any match. He later amended his reputation as he discovered and nurtured Pele.

The FIRST ever tied match was between Italy and Spain, the score one all. The game was played in Florence, Italy on 31 May 1934.

The FIRST match with extra-time was Austria vs France on 27 May 1934.

The FIRST final with extra-time was Italy vs Czechoslovakia on 10 June 1934.

The FIRST and only qualifying match played by a host country was by Italy (hosts) 4, Greece 0 on 25 March 1934.

The FIRST player to have scored 4 goals in a qualifier was Ireland's Paddy Moore who scored 4 goals in their 4:4 draw with Belgium on 25 Feb 1934 in Dublin.

The FIRST Asian country to play in a qualifying match was Palestine which lost 1:7 in Egypt on 10 March 1934.

1938 France

The FIRST Asian country to appear in finals was the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1938.

The FIRST time numbers were used on players' shirts in the World Cup was in the 1938 finals in France.

The FIRST player to score an own goal was Ernst Lötscher of Switzerland against West Germany in a first round replay game on 9 June 1938.

1954 Switzerland

The FIRST replacement of a player in a qualifying match was Germany's Horst Eckel replaced by Richard Gottinger against Saar on 11 October 1953.

The FIRST time the tradition of swapping shirts began in World Cup 1954.

The FIRST country to be eliminated by toss of coin in qualifying round was Spain which lost to Turkey on toss after a 2:2 tie in a play-off match on 17 March 1954.

1958 Sweden

The FIRST scoreless match was Brazil vs England in Stockholm, Sweden on 11 June, 1958.

The FIRST live worldwide TV coverage of the World Cup was in 1958.

1966 England

The FIRST time drug testing was introduced was in World Cup finals in 1966. Players banned after failing in drug testing include Haiti's Ernest Jean-Joseph (1974), Scotland's Willie Johnston (1978) and Argentina's Diego Maradona (1994).

The FIRST World Cup mascot was a lion-like boy called Willie used for the England 1966 World Cup.

The FIRST player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final was Geoff Hurst of England in 1966.

The FIRST Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals was North Korea in 1966.

1970 Mexico

The FIRST substitution of a goalkeeper was Romania's Necula Raducanu who replaced Steve Adamache in a match against Brazil on 10 June 1970.

The FIRST player to receive a yellow card was Lovchev of the USSR in the 1970 opening match against Mexico on 31 May 1970.

The FIRST substitute to score a goal was Mexico's Juan Basaguren in the match against El Salvador on 7 June 1970.

The FIRST time substitutes were used in World Cup finals matches was 1970. Before 1970, only injured players were allowed to be replaced.

The FIRST substitute in World Cup finals was Soviet player Anatoly Puzach who replaced Serebrannikov in the 1970 opening match against Mexico on 31 May 1970.

1974 Germany

The FIRST red-carded player was Chile's Carlos Caszely in a match against West Germany on 14 June 1974.

The FIRST time that the newly designed FIFA World Cup Trophy was awarded was in 1974, replacing the Jules Rimet Trophy.

The FIRST black African nation to play in a World Cup finals was Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974.

1978 Argentina

The FIRST qualifying match played on artificial turf was between Canada and USA on 24 Sept 1976 in Vancouver, Canada.

The FIRST qualifying match played indoor was between USA and Canada on 20 Oct 1976 in Seattle, USA.

The FIRST team to win a qualifying match on penalty shootout was Tunisia, which won 4:2 on penalties over Morocco after a 1:1 tie at home on 9 Jan 1977.

The FIRST country to withdraw from the World Cup due to the inability to pay the entrance fee was Sri Lanka which withdrew from the 1978 World Cup.

1982 Spain

The FIRST match decided with a penalty shoot-out was the semi-final between West Germany and France on 8 July, 1982, in which the Germans won the shootout 5:4.

The FIRST player to take penalty shootout in World Cup finals was Alain Giresse of France, who scored the first ever penalty in a shootout where France lost 4:5 to West Germany in the semi-final on 8 July 1982.

The FIRST substitute to score a hat-trick was Laszlo Kiss of Hungary in a match against El Salvador on 15 June 1982.

1986 Mexico

The FIRST match where a coach was sent off was in a first round match against Belgium on 11 June 1986, with Paraguayan coach Cayetano Re being shown his marching orders.

1994 Usa

The FIRST Final decided on penalty shoot-out was the 1994 Final in which Brazil beat Italy 3:2 on penalty shoot-out after the match finished in a 0:0 tie.

The FIRST match played indoors was at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, USA on 18 June 1994, in a match between USA and Switzerland.

The FIRST player to take a penalty shootout in a final was Franco Baresi of Italy, taking the shootout in the 1994 final but blasted it over the bar.

The FIRST goalkeeper to be sent-off was Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy in a match against Norway on 23 June 1994.

The FIRST player to have scored five goals in a single match was Oleg Salenko during the 1994 FIFA World Cup match between Russia and Cameroon.

1998 France

The FIRST player to score a golden goal was France's Laurent Blanc in the 113th minute in the Second Round match against Paraquay on 28 June 1998.

The FIRST French player to be sent off in World Cup finals was Zindine Zidane, in the first Round match against Saudi Arabia on 18 June 1998. France had kept a clean sheet for 68 years until France 98!

2006 Germany

The FIRST Game of the Germany '06 tournament was between the host Germany and Costa Rica. This is the first time the Cup holders did not open the tournament.

The FIRST goal scored in Germany 2006 Finals was by the German player Lahm.

The FIRST World Cup not to have at least one hat-trick scored was the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

2010 South Africa

The FIRST time the host country had ever been eliminated in the first round was in South Africa.

The FIRST World Cup with no debutant associations was in 2010, although two of the qualifiers (Slovakia and Serbia) have previously appeared as parts of former competing nations.